The time has come to elect the visionary leaders who will guide FLAVA’s mission forward. Dive into the exciting journey of choosing our next officers by reviewing the dedicated candidates’ bios and information. Your voice matters in shaping the future of language education in Virginia.
Learn more about each of our candidates by exploring their bios on the right.
Why do you wish to serve as President Elect? What do you hope to contribute to FLAVA?
In the past 15 years, I have grown professionally and personally thanks to FLAVA and its annual
conference. I have benefited greatly from the knowledge shared and the experiences that I have had in connecting with many of my colleagues in world languages in the Virginia area, and I would love an opportunity to give back through service and leadership to Virginia as serving as President Elect next year.
What personal qualities or strengths can you bring to the FLAVA Executive Board?
I feel that I have determination, creativity, and willingness to work hard towards a common goal as well as a new perspective since I have not served on FLAVA’s board before. I also am eager to help and learn from others in a cooperative setting.
How does the current term fit in with your other responsibilities?
I am at a point in my life that I have time to devote time and energy to activities such as leading through FLAVA, and I am dedicated to help FLAVA continue to support world language educators throughout the next 6 or so years as I
would serve in a leadership capacity.
Highlight any past experiences which would be useful in serving on the FLAVA Executive Board.
I currently am a department chair at my school, am a language lead for my county, and serve on the board of AATF
Virginia. In 2020, I served on the board to write the SOLs for WL language. In addition to this, I am currently studying for my masters in Educational Leadership at George Mason University, and will graduate by next summer. In
2021, I was chosen as “The Best of FLAVA”, where I represented Virginia at NECTFL in NYC in 2022.
Why do you wish to serve as Communications Coordinator? What do you hope to contribute to FLAVA?
Since coming to Virginia, I have seen the ways in which FLAVA supports and encourages Foreign Language educators to continue to grow throughout their careers. The conferences which I have had the opportunity to go to have provided me with a wider net of support in my first few years of teaching. I would love to give back to this rich community by serving as the Communications Coordinator. I would continue to maintain records and keep them accessible to benefit members. I believe that I can bring a different perspective to the Board as a Gen-Z educator and a teacher of a Classical Language. As a Gen-Z teacher, I would use my social media skills to connect with those who are coming into our field, while also utilizing other forms of communication to ensure that all members of FLAVA are being reached. As a teacher of a Classical Language, I strive to listen to teachers of all languages and be cognizant of how we can ensure that all voices are heard, regardless of how “small” the language community may seem. FLAVA thrives through its visibility and dedicated members, so I would be honored to contribute through serving as Communications Coordinator.
What personal qualities or strengths can you bring to the FLAVA Executive Board?
Some qualities that I can bring to the FLAVA Executive Board include being well-organized, determined, and humorous. I like to keep my work organized logically so it can be followed by any who would look at it. In anything I do, I am determined to do good work and help others. I think that there are very few situations that humor cannot enrich, so I bring my wit in my toolbox. Some strengths are that I handle stress well, consider potential issues before they happen, and anticipate the needs of my colleagues.
How does the current term fit in with your other responsibilities?
At this time, the only commitment that I have is my current teaching position and being the sponsor for our school’s Latin Club. Should I add any other commitments, I would thoughtfully consider how they would fit with my course load as well as my responsibilities for the FLAVA Executive Board.
Highlight any past experiences which would be useful in serving on the FLAVA Executive Board.
While in college, I served in a variety of roles for the Big Partner Little Partner (BPLP) program, Eta Sigma Phi Classics Honor Society, and the Gustavus Choir. For BPLP, my responsibilities included planning events, communicating between parents and school administration, and overseeing the coordinators and program as a whole. As Eta Sigma Phi President, I collaborated with professors, staff, and students to execute events, induct new members, lead the executive board, and advocate for classical languages. Finally, as Chaplain of the Gustavus Choir, I upheld the traditions and history of the choir, collaborated with the cabinet, and maintained its records for future board members. Within my time working at Riverbend High School, I have managed our World Languages Instagram account, facilitated events for world language students, assisted events for fine arts students, and attended many other activities. Due to teaching in a virtual, hybrid, and in-person format, I am technologically savvy and willing to work in unconventional ways for the benefit of those whom I am serving.
Why do you wish to serve as Communications Coordinator? What do you hope to contribute to FLAVA?
I am excited at the prospect of spending another term as the Communications Coordinator of FLAVA. My vision when I ran before included improving communications to meet the needs of new generations of educators and growing FLAVA’s social media presence. I believe I have succeeded in these two areas and will continue to improve upon them. As an educator in the classroom I can relate to the educators of Virginia. I do this through staying current in both professional development and the direction of education. Social media is a crucial component of that growth. If you look at my work on our platforms I have continued to improve graphics and communications. Specifically, I am proud of FLAVA’s social media presence during our conferences. I have maintained updates and information throughout the conferences that include daily check-ins, real time video posts to direct people to different locations and events, interviewing highlights of attendees and much more. I look forward to working with the board to continue to improve in this area. I also would like to point out the overall improvement in the visual content creation. My knowledge of the CANVA platform and my ability to update our images has improved our online presence. It is clean and streamlined for easy access. One addition I made was creating a linktree to house all of our updates and links. This has streamlined the engagement process by not having FLAVA members hunt for links on posts or search through emails. I hope to continue using this platform. Finally, in looking to our future, I am hopeful in the current board’s ability to improve our presence in Virginia. Our conferences have been great successes and that is in part due to the updated vision of the current members and our social media presence. My goal is to continue improving FLAVA and I hope you will grant me the
opportunity to do so.
What personal qualities or strengths can you bring to the FLAVA Executive Board?
Three main areas come to mind when discussing my qualities and/or strengths that I can bring to FLAVA. First, I am committed to growth on a personal and professional level. I believe that constantly striving to improve one’s self and one’s pedagogy is essential. This is the same energy I have brought to FLAVA with an understanding that we need to improve our current organization to retain more members and appeal to new educators. There is always room for improvement and I hope to assist with just that. Second, is my commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. My passion is that through education FLAVA can continue to improve their practices and communications to reflect the diversity of the state of Virginia. One area specifically is our language use. I feel that working with board members to be aware of our language use is an area that is essential for us to stay relevant in the state. I also hope that we can continue to encourage and to embrace diversity among our members. That means continuing to highlight all educators no matter race, socio-economic status, religion, gender, sex, experience, etc. I hope that FLAVA will eventually reflect the diverse beauty that exists among state educators. Finally, my strength in the area of technology and social media is crucial for the communications coordinator. I am able to perform at a high level on all platforms because I am continuously educating myself in this area. FLAVA is best supported by a Communications Coordinator that is capable of utilizing current technology trends.
How does the current term fit in with your other responsibilities?
I do not anticipate any change to my current role as Communications Coordinator as relates to my other responsibilities. I will continue to succeed in the classroom as well as dedicate time to the growth of FLAVA. My main responsibilities consist of these two things which allows me to dedicate more time than other educators who may have several different commitments.
Highlight any past experiences which would be useful in serving on the FLAVA Executive Board.
I began my teaching career in 2017 and spent my first year in Smyth County at Marion Middle and High School.While teaching my first few years I served as an Upward Bound Teacher at Wytheville Community College from 2017 through 2020. My second year teaching I went to Montgomery County where I taught Spanish at Blacksburg Middle School and High School from 2018 through 2021. While in MCPS I was a member of the equity committee and served on the Positive Behavioral Interventions/Supports Committee. In 2021 I also was an online instructor for the Virtual Montgomery County school where I developed a World Language Exploratory Course for middle schoolers. The summer of 2021 I began my work for La Familia Loca, a professional learning community led by Annabelle Williamson. For two years I was a High School workshop facilitator for language educators around the world. In 2021 I also became a teacher in Loudoun County at Independence High School where I currently work as a Spanish teacher, supervisor for the UNICEF club as well as a member of the Equity Committee. During my time in LCPS, I was elected to serve as Communications Coordinator for the Foreign Language Association of Virginia from January 2022 through December 2023. In addition to my professional experience I have also won two different awards. In 2020, during virtual teaching, I won Best of FLAVA for my presentation “Getting over Myself: Embracing Visual Input and Letting Go of Memorization and Unrealistic Expectations.” Then in 2021, I won Best of the Southern Conference of Language Teachers for the same presentation. Following the regional conference I presented at ACTFL 2021 where I was recognized for my previous awards. Through the years I have continued to provide quality professional development at the state, regional and national levels.
Why do you wish to serve as Communications Coordinator? What do you hope to contribute to FLAVA?
As Communications Coordinator for FLAVA, I am excited to help the organization by improving how we talk and work together with language educators. I think it’s crucial to have good communication so we can share useful things like resources, ideas, and opportunities with all FLAVA members. In this role, I want to make communication easier by simplifying how we talk to each other, making sure we send out important information on time, and sharing interesting stuff to keep everyone in the loop. I also want to encourage people to share their thoughts and ideas so we can make our communication better and suit everyone’s needs. My main goal is to create a friendly and interactive platform that helps FLAVA have a positive impact and supports language educators; growth and success in our area. In addition, I am taking two certificate courses at MIT this summer. One is about Cultural Awareness, and the other is on Persuasive Communication. I believe that acquiring these skills will enable me to effectively dedicate myself to the role of Communication Coordinator at FLAVA.
What personal qualities or strengths can you bring to the FLAVA Executive Board?
As a potential member of the FLAVA Executive Board, I can bring several personal qualities and strengths that would contribute positively to the organization. Firstly, I am highly adaptable and have experience working in diverse educational settings, which allows me to understand and empathize with the needs of language educators from various backgrounds. Secondly, my strong communication and presentation skills, developed through participating in conferences and workshops, would aid in effectively conveying FLAVA’s messages and initiatives to the language education community. Additionally, my organizational skills, honed through my role as a communication coordinator, enable me to plan and coordinate events efficiently, ensuring smooth execution of FLAVA’s activities. Furthermore, I am proactive and eager to take on new challenges, always seeking opportunities to enhance language education and support educators in their professional growth. Overall, my adaptable nature, communication skills, organizational abilities, and proactive attitude make me a valuable candidate for the FLAVA Executive Board, ready to make meaningful contributions to the advancement of language education.
How does the current term fit in with your other responsibilities?
The current term fits well with my other tasks and duties. I have planned my schedule carefully to make sure I can handle both my roles and give enough time to my responsibilities on the FLAVA Executive Board. I am dedicated to carrying out my duties and actively participating in FLAVA’s projects while still managing my other commitments in a well-organized way. Because of this, I am sure that I can devote the necessary time and effort to serve effectively on the Executive Board without neglecting my other responsibilities.
Highlight any past experiences which would be useful in serving on the FLAVA Executive Board.
One thing that could be helpful for serving on the FLAVA Executive Board is my experience as a language teacher in a diverse range of schools, from K12 to college, and from public to private institutions. I have also presented at various conferences, including FLAVA, ACTFL, CLTA, and even in the UK. Moreover, I have received an award grant to support the Chinese program at my school. Through these experiences, I have gained valuable insights into the needs and challenges faced by language teachers and students. This hands-on experience has provided me with innovative ideas to support and include everyone in language education. Additionally, I currently serve as the communication coordinator at CLTA-VA and have actively participated in planning language-related events and workshops, including CLTA-VA workshops several times. These opportunities have enhanced my organizational and collaborative skills. I believe this experience will be beneficial in contributing to FLAVA’s activities and plans. In summary, my background as a language teacher and my involvement in event planning have equipped me with the skills and knowledge to be a valuable member of the FLAVA Executive Board, enabling me to make a positive impact on language education.
